WORKFORCE STRATEGY HEAD, ENTERPRISE DATA SCIENCE & ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (DSAI)

Job Description Summary

You will lead the enterprise people and organization agenda for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (DSAI) across Novartis, translating our DSAI ambition into the workforce, organization, talent and capability choices needed to deliver it. Operating at the decision-making table with senior DSAI leaders and partnering across the enterprise, you will shape how we build, attract and grow critical DSAI talent, strengthen our external value proposition, and enable responsible human-AI collaboration. You will lead the enterprise DSAI OTR, including discussion at ECN level, and create the standards, governance and frameworks needed in areas such as careers, capabilities, talent and rewards, particularly where established approaches do not yet exist. This enterprise role complements rather than replaces the Workforce Strategy Leads directly supporting DSAI teams within their units. Unit-level accountabilities remain unchanged, while this role connects across them, providing the overarching DSAI people strategy, standards and governance and enabling enterprise-level choices where these are needed.

Key Responsibilities

• Set the enterprise DSAI people and organization strategy. Translate the DSAI ambition into an integrated, future-ready agenda across workforce, organization, leadership, culture, talent and capability.
• Shape strategic workforce and capability choices. Use scenarios, analytics, external insight and data storytelling to anticipate demand for scarce DSAI capabilities and recommend choices on organization design, skills, capacity, location, sourcing and workforce mix.
• Lead the enterprise DSAI OTR. Orchestrate the enterprise talent review, integrate perspectives across units, and present implications, choices and recommendations to ECN.
• Establish enterprise talent and career approaches. Create differentiated career development, mobility, succession and talent-allocation mechanisms suited to DSAI roles and communities.
• Build the external DSAI talent brand and pipeline. Strengthen Novartis’ visibility as an employer of choice through targeted engagement with universities, specialist talent networks and external forums. Build early-talent pathways that attract dual technical/scientific and DSAI expertise and develop judgement, experience and leadership capability.
• Design and create enterprise DSAI standards. Build new governance, rewards approaches, career architecture, capability frameworks, talent programs and operating approaches for a field evolving faster than established internal practices.
• Connect enterprise strategy and unit execution. Define decision rights, interfaces and governance so the enterprise mandate is distinct from, and complementary to, unchanged unit-level P&O accountabilities.
• Influence a complex enterprise stakeholder system. Partner with at least nine ECN-1 leaders across R&D, Commercial, Operations and Global Functions, the Head of GDC, unit P&O Business Partners and Expertise Hubs to resolve enterprise trade-offs without relying on formal authority.
• Redesign work for human-AI collaboration. Guide organization, role and workflow choices that enable responsible collaboration among people, automation and AI agents while sustaining accountability and a human-cantered employee experience.
• Coach senior leaders, shape culture and lead transformation. Challenge and coach leaders through ambiguity, build commitment to new enterprise approaches, anticipate resistance and track adoption and benefits.

What you’ll bring to the role

Essential Criteria

• Extensive experience of progressive P&O/HR experience, including strategic partnership with executive and ECN-1 leaders in a complex global matrix.
• Strong organization design, strategic workforce planning and transformation experience, including scenario development and enterprise trade-off recommendations.
• Demonstrated experience creating global or enterprise-wide people strategies, standards, governance or programs, not only implementing established solutions.
• Evidence of leading enterprise talent reviews, succession and capability discussions with senior executive forums.
• Demonstrated ability to influence multiple senior stakeholders across business units, functions, countries and P&O disciplines without formal authority.
• Fluency in people analytics and confidence with AI-enabled tools, responsible AI principles and emerging work technologies.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience translating emerging technology, data science or digital strategy into workforce, organization and talent implications; direct DSAI sector experience is highly desirable.
• Relevant university degree or equivalent experience required; advanced qualification in business, organization, analytics, technology or a related discipline.